"Tinsel?"
"Yeah, it's this stuff," Mike explained, picking a thin strand of silver out of her hair. A few pieces had fallen from the decorations overhead, one settling in El's hair, on top of her curls. Mike carefully extracted the last piece of sparkling foil. His fingers paused for a second on one of those curls, thinking her hair felt like silk.
Jane's hair, he mentally corrected himself. Jane now, because that's what she and her dad wanted, and he of course understood why. The name Eleven didn't exactly hold warm memories for Jane. Still, he liked secretly thinking of her as El; he occasionally slipped up and called her that. After all, it was the nickname he had given her when they'd first met.
"Why do school dances have to end at 9:30? That's like a baby's bedtime," Mike mumbled, glancing at the clock on the wall. The time was moving way too fast for his liking.
"I don't mind," Jane said matter of factly. After a year of confinement in the cabin, she was determined not to let anything get in the way of the evening. She was with Mike and their friends, finally at the Snow Ball, just as he had promised they would be. It may have been a year later, but they were here. That is all that mattered to her. When her dad had mentioned maybe allowing her to go to the Snow Ball, she had jumped at the opportunity. She and Mike had dutifully listened to his lecture on the rules, nodding at all the right times, promising to be extra careful.
"Hey, it's almost 9:30," Mike observed with a sigh. "Want to get a few minutes of fresh air before the coach turns back into a pumpkin?"
"Pumpkin?"
"Never mind, bad joke. I'll explain it later. Let's just see if we can get out of here."
He took Jane's hand and lead her toward the back door of the gym, watching carefully for any teachers' prying eyes. When the coast was clear, he gripped her hand a bit tighter and they slipped out the back door and into the hall of Hawkins Middle School.
Ah, we are finally alone, Mike thought. When they were dancing, Mike had felt like they were the only two people in the world, that was until his friends saw their brief kiss and proceeded to tease them with kissing noises and calls of "lovebirds" repeatedly. Jane remained blissfully oblivious but Mike was starting to feel the walls close in on them, especially as the time neared 9:30.
Jane instinctively moved closer to Mike as they walked. She wanted to enjoy every minute, and to be as close to him as possible. Mike was certainly not complaining, content for the few moments of solitude with his girl. The music and noise from the gym faded behind them.
Mike felt her shift a bit next to him and knew something was bothering her. They had reached the end of the hall and he turned toward her, concerned.
"You okay?" He asked.
Jane looked up at him, her eyes full of worry. God, her eyes are so pretty, he thought. He hated to see the look of sadness and tension there.
"Mike," she said in a voice barely above a whisper, "Dad said another year…"
So that's why she looked so sad and worried, he realized. And he felt the same way. He knew they couldn't bear 365 more days of desperately speaking into walkie talkies and getting no response. Another year of wondering what the other was doing, if they were ok. For Jane, it would mean another year of visiting Mike purely in her mind, reaching out to touch him only to have him disappear like smoke.
He brightened up as he remembered, "Hey, didn't your dad say we could help you get ready for school next year? We would have to see each other to do that! And he let us come here tonight. That's got to be a good sign."
Jane smiled. That's better, he thought. They were leaning against a door that lead outside and without really thinking about it, he pushed it open. They made their way to a nearby bench, still hand in hand.
Sitting on the bench, Jane snuggled closer to Mike and he put both arms around her for warmth. The night was cold and clear, their breaths visible in the crisp air. Her head was on his chest. He rubbed her arms, rested his chin on top of her head, and breathed in deeply. Her hair smells like strawberries, he thought. How can a person even smell this good? God, his friends would tease him like crazy if they knew what he was thinking right now. He closed his eyes, wishing this moment could last forever. Her next question broke the silence.
"What is school like?" she asked quietly. That twinge of nervousness had slipped back into her voice. She looked up at him, big brown eyes searching his for reassurance.
Mike held her close and replied, "It's not bad! You get to see your friends every day and some teachers are really cool. Just think, you'll get to start high school with us. You can even be in AV club!"
He honestly didn't know if the high school had AV club, but hell, he thought, we will start one if we have to. Anything for Jane.
"Won't know anything though," she said sadly.
"Jane, you're the smartest person I know! You'll do great. The guys and I will help you and be there the whole time. Besides, your dad is the chief of police. It's not like any mouth breathers will mess with you."
She grinned at that, clearly feeling better. Their faces were inches apart. He could see every perfect eyelash, every little freckle. He bent down and kissed her softly, his lips lingering on hers a little longer than they had during their quick dance floor kiss. Her arms wrapped around his neck and Mike thought to himself that he could never feel better than he did right now. This girl, she's perfect. He pulled her closer.
They were so entranced with each other, they didn't even hear the door they had used a few minutes before (hadn't it only been a few minutes?) open forcefully. Nor were they aware of a very large, very angry police chief of a father who came barreling out said door, his eyes wildly searching around him. The worry and fear on his face dissolved into anger when he spotted the bench. And the two young teens locked in an embrace on it.
"GET your hands off my daughter!" The voice broke their reverie with such force that they flew apart and Mike fell off the side of the bench, landing with a thud.
"What the hell is going on? Do you have any idea what time it is?!"
Jane and Mike's hands were grasped together, as he was attempting to scramble up from his very undignified spot on the ground. She turned his wrist to look at his watch and read, "Ten-zero-five."
10:05?! thought Mike. That can't be right. There's no way we were out here thirty-five minutes, was there?
Jane was still studying the watch, as if she too could not believe it was accurate.
"Oh, shi…" she started to say but the last word was stopped by Mike's hand clamping over her mouth. He had found his feet and was standing over Jane, trying to catch his breath after being so startled. Even in his disheveled and alarmed state, he had enough self preservation to know that adding cursing to their list of transgressions would not be wise.
The chief's eyes narrowed as he regarded them both. This can't be happening, thought Mike. Jane had removed his hand from her mouth with a confused look.
"What was that, young lady?" The chief growled.
"Using a word you say, Dad!" Jane answered brightly. Mike's head was frantically shaking and he was mouthing "no, no, no" in a futile attempt to stop her from talking. It wasn't working. "And you say it too, Mike!" Jane added cheerfully, clearly happy and proud of herself. "It can be the word of the day!"
Mike's hands covered his face. He could feel himself blushing and was suddenly wishing the ground would swallow him whole. Where was a Demogorgon when you need one?!
Hopper exhaled, his breath in the air reminding him how cold it was. His eyes settled on Mike, fixing him with a steely glare. Mike gulped hard, wondering where that lump in his throat had come from, hoping he wasn't visibly shaking.
"So tell me, Wheeler," Hopper said slowly and deliberately, enunciating every syllable, "At what point did you think it a good idea to get my daughter out here alone in the freezing cold and have your grubby hands all over her? After all of our talks about the rules and keeping her safe?"
Mike just stared. Was he supposed to actually answer? He caught a chill and shivered briefly. Had it been this cold out here the whole time? Surely not. He had felt so warm a few minutes ago.
Since the chief was still staring at him, he figured he should try to come up with a response. But what was he supposed to say? That they weren't cold because they were kissing? That he hadn't really thought about it? That the lectures about keeping her safe hadn't entered his head when faced with the opportunity for just a few minutes alone? Once again, self preservation nixed that idea. Instead he found himself stammering, "Uh, you see, uh, sir, we were just.."
Hopper held up his hand. "You can stop right there. I know what you were doing. I also know that I was about to have a heart attack looking for you two. At 9:30, all of the other kids came out of the gym, they got in their parents' cars. And there I am, looking around for Jane, and Nancy is looking for you. But you were nowhere to be found. Your friends hadn't seen you. So I'm picturing all sorts of horrible things happening to you and it turns out you're just outside, behind the school, being highly inappropriate with my little girl. Sound about right?"
"NOT a little girl," Jane was incredulous.
"And this is not a good time to be talking back," Hopper snapped. "You ARE my little girl and you have not been out in the world long enough to decide just what is and isn't suitable behavior. So don't test me right now."
Mike's eyes were as big as saucers. This wasn't good at all. Jane's dad is highly pissed, he thought, we'll be lucky if we're not grounded till we're 20.
Jane took Hopper's hand and turned to face him.
"Dad," she said softly, looking up at him to get his attention, and Hopper felt his tough exterior give, just a tiny bit. It had only been about a month that she had been calling him that and his heart still melted a little every time she did.
"Don't be mad at Mike," She implored him in a gentle voice, then added enthusiastically, "I had my grubby hands on him too!" She didn't know quite what that meant but she knew that she and Mike had both been doing the same thing, and it didn't seem fair for her dad to be mad only at Mike about it.
"Sshhh, El, please don't" Mike quietly pleaded with her. He knew she was trying to help but every time she spoke, it was making things worse.
"Jane," she corrected him.
"Jane, sorry."
Hopper spoke next, breaking the tension. He was clearly still angry, his features hard and unmoving.
"Jane, we will discuss this more at home. Mike, your parents will be hearing from me about what happened. You won't be seeing each other for awhile."
Panic shot through Mike at those words. "How long?" He asked, trying not to let his voice crack. His throat felt thick.
"I don't know, kid. Long enough for you both to learn what is acceptable behavior and what isn't."
"We know, honestly we do," Mike interjected, a tone of desperation in his voice. "We'll never do this again. The time just got away from us! We didn't meant to be gone so long."
"Well you failed miserably at that last part. Say your goodbyes, quickly, and now."
"Mike," Jane turned toward him, "I had a really good time at the dance. Thank you." She leaned forward to kiss his cheek, only to be pulled back by Hopper.
"Think again. There's been quite enough of that tonight." His hands were on Jane's shoulders, ready to steer her toward his truck. He turned his gaze once again to Mike, pointing a finger at him.
"You will go back in there, find your sister, and apologize for scaring her. Then you will go straight home. Do I make myself clear?"
Mike cleared his throat. "Yes, sir." He was speaking to Hopper but his eyes were on Jane, trying to focus on her as long as he could. How long would it be before they saw each other again?
Mike knew he should be inside, finding Nancy. But he couldn't make himself turn away until Jane and the chief were in his truck, driving toward the street. He watched until the truck's lights were red dots in the distance, taking Jane further and further from him.